knit1frog2

confused

I woke up today and my head was splitting.  I mean hurting-so-bad-that-I-could-barely-see-straight splitting.  Even the 3 Advil I took an hour ago has barely touched it.  It doesn't help that I'm trying to figure out the different needle sizes that companies have...I know that UK/US sizes are listed differently--metric listings...good.  Fine.  But, what I wasn't expecting is that different companies' interpretations of the US sizes...are...um...different.  Why I even started thinking about this, is because I wanted to try the magic loop method of knitting socks.  My favorite Crystal Palace dpn is size US 2.5, but what size would this be in circular?  And for yarn like Lorna's Laces, I would use a 1.5 or 2.0 dpn...what would the equivalent be?

Where the sizes differ the most is on the teeny tiny sized needles.  Example you say?  Okay so check this out:

Addi turbo circular needle size 1 = 2.50mm. 
CP size 1 = 2.25mm
Addi turbo circular needle size 2 = 3.00mm. 
CP size 2 = 2.75mm

Um, right.  So NOW what?  Well, it turns out that Inox might be the solution as they match the diameter size of the CP dpns...

Inox circular needle size 1 = 2.25mm
Inox circular needle size 2 = 2.75mm

I thought all of my woes were fixed...Tania mentioned that she found them at a place called The Needlepoint Joint.  I called them today and they had the size 1!  hooray!  However, the size 2's they had in stock were not the 2.75mm ones I was hoping for.  Strange!  Eileen (the person on the other end of the phone) mentioned that the ones she had were 2.50mm, but the order form for her new shipment said 2.75mm!!  Odd indeed.  She was so sweet and told me she would ship out the 2.75s when they arrived.  Here's to seeing the 2.75s arrive soon.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I'm off to Hilltop today so see what they have since I have a $25 voucher!  Let's just hope my headache subsides.  Maybe I should take some more Advil...

summer day

What an amazing day!  It started out a little iffy with the grey, cloudy sky and cold temperatures, but it ended up just fine.  It's currently 80 degrees outside!  Talk about funny weather this year...

I had the day off today which was a very nice thing.  I really needed it...

What did I do?  Well, among other things, you just know that I went to a LYS don't you?  That's right.  I ventured out to the Fiber Gallery in Greenwood.  While they didn't have what I was looking for, they did have a great array of Cascade superwash if you're looking.  They also had the greatest square, wooden table in the front area...I wished I had some knitting with me to plop down.  Why is it that no one local has Lorna's Laces in sport weight?

I next went to Weaving Works to see if they had anything new, or anything that I didn't see the last time I went...they did have the Jo Sharp book with the mohair socks, so I took a quick peek at the pattern to refresh my memory.  Since I've been so sock crazy lately, I was delighted to find reinforcement yarn in all sorts of colors.  Wish I had found the purple reinforcement yarn before I finished my right purple sock...maybe I'll do a test and finish the left one with it.

reinforcement twins activate!

This reminds me.  Fellow-knitter Tania (no I'm not talking in 3rd person here!) wrote to tell me about Wooly Nylon.  She uses this for reinforcing heels and toes and I had to run out to get that this week too.  You can find that at Joann's and with a 40% off coupon, the cost is negligible.  I can't wait to try it.  She's got some amazing socks that she's completed ... she was even sweet enough to send me the cabled sock pattern that I liked so much!

with a coupon, it's less than a latte

While working on my purple socks, I was finding 4 needles cumbersome so I adjusted the stitches and kept knitting on 3 needles. I couldn't believe how much faster it's been going since. Since that was speeding along, I got to wondering about the socks on circular needles that I've been reading about...now surely that has to be even faster...but you need 2 of the same size needle...off I went to Acorn Street...and look what I got...

b/c why not just get them all now? ha.

Cat Bordi, author of Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles says in her book that if you forego dinner out this week, or eat your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at lunchtime, you can get them all at once.  Okay, maybe not that exact phrasing, but it is close and there was something about pb&j for a meal.  I kept thinking about this on the way home.  I'd never before been one to go without.  Get them AND eat dinner I say, mwuahahahaha.  No no, that's how one gets into debt in the first place!  So, pb&j on toasted bread is sounding good about now...I'm off!

one down, one to go

I have to say this is one of my favorite socks ever!!

only one more to go!

This is the first time that I finished the toe off per the pattern's usual rows of decreases.  Normally the short row method is used, the same one that's used for the heel and finishing it up is done by seamlessly kitchenering it up on the under side.  Yup, this was a nice change...though it's late tonight and I'll wait to cast on for the left one tomorrow.  Night all!

custom fit

Remember the Oral Surgeon socks?  Well, I finally have a finished picture...I had mentioned before that they would need a bit of custom tweaking...the reason?  It's b/c MF only has 3 toes on one foot...yes it was a tractor accident from childhood when growing up in Minnesota...don't be sad, she's not...she does quite well with fewer toes on that one foot.

5 toes, 3 toes

She had mentioned before how socks on that one foot just never fit right being bulky and all, so I thought I'd make some for her that really fit!  She wears them, so I think the alteration worked just fine!

the dead zone

It's funny how much longer things take then you think...getting new accounts set up, posting new posts...at least I'm able to log into typepad today to say a little something...!

I often wonder who stops by to peruse my site, and a short while ago I got an email from someone named Tina who, from my post about where to find the Weasley pattern was able to find one for herself!  Hooyah, that's SO awesome!!  I asked her to keep me posted on her sweater progress...

The NBaT knitalong is going along well, though I don't have a picture of that for you today...I've been passing the time with mastering this...

cute huh?  Dalegarn Baby Ull yarn, US 2.5s

The diagonal rib pattern from IK was a little easier to knit than it read.  I had never k2tog, leave sts on the left needle and k1 into first st, rem both sts before...so I wasn't quite sure how to do that.  A socknitter pal (Joy--wonder if she has a site) encouraged me to try the pattern and to not give up.  I'm really enjoying it, it's a fun knit!

post tax day

Well, tax day has come and gone...I had a previous post for last week, but it sounded so grumpy I decided not to post it...I was in a post-tax funk.  I ended up owing this year about what I got as a return the earlier year.  This was not a treat.  Last year I was able to buy my cherry blossom LV.  This year, nuttin.  I do have some good news though.  I soon will be out of the hell that is the plastic spiral of death.  No more credit card debt!  I find myself looking at new digital cameras (b/c we all know I've wanted one for some time now) and sock yarns...!  ha.  No, really I won't go back to that awful way of life...boy is that a bad trap...so easy to get sucked into and so hard to get out.  But I am FREEeeeeeee!!

I'm finishing up the Lorna's Laces socks...it really wasn't so bad to knit them even though the yarn is SO fine I thought I'd never finish.  Every time I finish up a sock toe with the kitchener's stitch, I'm always so amazed how seamless and invisible it really turns out!!

kitchener stitch really rocks!

I'll soon report back with my NBaT knitalong!  Until then...

pinku wa totemo kawaiiii desu ne!

I won't lie.  I really would like one of these...

it's pretty in pink

Not because I want to "tell" people that I've been knitting forever (b/c I only started seriously knitting last year).  Not b/c it's the latest craze (b/c I refuse to pay $51 for one).  No, it's just b/c I really like pink.

continental flair

Don't ask me why it's taken me so long to sign up for a continental knitting class.  I didn't sign up for a class to begin knitting and it wasn't until I took a class on something else that I found out the style in which I knit.  Apparently it is the old English, pencil style.  It was the way I was taught and I never really learned any other way.  Don't get me wrong, I have tried continental...and it's the only reason that I was able to knit Livvy's Weasley sweater in 3 days...but I just don't have it down.  Now that I'm knitting so much more, I can see where the other version would be a nice thing to have in my bag o' tricks.  I'm very excited though about the class and somehow I managed to get the last open spot.  It was meant to be.  (In case you're wondering, the class is at Acorn Street, but not until May.)

When I go to try to purl, the yarn goes *boing* off of my fingertip!  When I see pictures of other people doing it, the yarn is so close to the end of their knitting.  What are they doing?  How exactly does this work?  In my last knitting class (Japanese short rows...oh, and if you're wondering about this, I was going to make a post about this, but Nona has done an excellent job comparing different styles of shortrows, I won't have to...check out her intensive blogging about this subject here.  It's worth the visit most definitely!) I saw such an interesting way to purl from a woman in the class for the shortrows that I took, which involved using the thumb to move the yarn back and forth, but of course I could never think to duplicate it.  She showed me slowly, but I've lost it by now.  I'd love to find out again how that worked!  ^_^

livvy's sorbet

Well the first version was a bit chunky and I was calling that Livvy's sherbet sock.  The more refined version of sherbet is sorbet...and I'm really liking this one lots better...take a peek...

smaller gauged yarn, Dalegarn Baby Ull

I think this will put an end to the afore-mentioned crying due to the absence of socks for the B-meister.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda gone with my original plan of the Dalegarn yarn.  Sure enough it's the perfect gauge and machine washable.  Yes, I try to make things easy for my SIL. ^_~

one sock wonder

The brownies are in the oven baking, which gives me some time to post...

So, I often knit for others.  I mentioned this to my friend Robin, and she said that the next 5 projects should be for me!  I quite liked that thought... ha!  Even though I've started things for myself, I never really concentrate on them and easily put them aside for others.

Awhile ago I had mentioned some Koigu socks that I was working on.  Well, hmm...I had finished one last week (finally) and went to start the other one, and um, I could not for the life of me find the other skein!!!  I looked everywhere and it's hiding.  I'm sure it's off with the missing #2.5 dpn and #3 dpn having a party someplace.  Since I couldn't find the skein, I thought I'd try some Lorna's Laces that I had onhand and a different pattern (Fiber Trends Railroad Rib Socks).  Oh, and interestingly, since I made such a short leg for the first koigu sock, I had quite a bit of yarn leftover.  I cast on for the 2nd koigu sock and got within 2" of the end...where is that missing skein??  (I'll give you some brownie if you come out!)

left: koigu    right: lorna's laces
#3dpn           #2dpn

I reeeeeeally would like to try some Lorna's Laces sport weight b/c the regular yarn seems endless and tiny while knitting.  I seriously never thought I'd get to the end of the above sock and it gave me no incentive to cast on for the other one (though I did).  I haven't been successful at finding any locally...

With the Lorna's Lace sock, I thought I should try the regular heel b/c I had only done it one other time.  I don't prefer them.  I find picking up stitches cumbersome!  And how do I get rid of the big loop at the end of my row?  This leaves me with the potential of one side of the heel to have holes and I really don't like that!  Shortrow heels are my heel of choice!  If you know of a trick to stop the large ending loop on one end, please do share your tip.

The house smells of chocolately goodness and I am off to check on the brownies!